Dance
by Forlorn Maiden
Summary: Love is like a dance, you don't always find it with the very first person you dance with, but they could be the ones who help you find the one. It takes time though, and it's confusing with its twists and turns that it leaves you feeling dizzy... [Taang]


Title: Dance

Summary: Love is like a dance, you don't always find it with the very first person you dance with, but they could be the ones who help you find the one. It takes time though, and it's confusing with its twists and turns that it leaves you feeling dizzy that you want to get out, but you can't.

Disclaimer: Avatar the Last Airbender is not mine.

A/N: I suck at titles. This fic came to me when I heard Rascal Flatts' _Bless The Broken Road. _Aang and Toph are at first late 15 or early 16; and later on, they are 18 or 19 years old. I've lowered this T rating, but please don't read this if you're not a mature or a mature teen because it has suggestions.

* * *

"Stop moping around," she told him. "She'll never love you again that way. This is one war you've lost Mr. Avatar."

It was so unfair, did she _think_ of ways to hurt him? The airbender had unbelievably lost the love of his life to someone else. Someone who knew how to talk to her; and without hesitation show and say how he felt about the water mistress. Aang cursed himself and wondered if there was something absolutely wrong with him. Sure, he had Meng and Koko infatuated with him, but he didn't feel the chemistry, no matter how hard he tried and wanted to. Aunt Wu was right, love was not in his future, and it hurt.

Aang leaned against the wall, devastated. He looked down at the floor, trying to avoid his former earthbending teacher's eyes. Despite that she was blind, it always seemed like her eyes pierced through his. It was as if she could really _see_ him and what was in his heart and mind.

The earth mistress continued, unkindly, "Get over it."

Aang sighed.

"She'll never love you; and he'll never love me."

That caused Aang to jerk his head up to face her. He hinted sadness in her eyes, as well as hurt, and maybe a little bit of regret? It was strange how she could sound so _casual_ about it. Aang wasn't as naïve as Sokka, inspite of the fact that the warrior was older than him, and Aang knew that Toph loved him. It started out into a small crush, which had excited her in a way because she had never had one due to being locked up, but gradually it grew into something more. She gave him hints and suggestions, but the man never got it. Apparently Sokka was dense.

The Avatar looked at one of his best friends and thought about how difficult she could be. However she had her ways of doing things--of making him do things, and when he finally realizes it, it's been done. He stood up and placed his arm around her, on her shoulder. "Let's go," was all he said. Silently they walked back to the place they were staying at for the moment.

* * *

"Another cup over here!"

"Um, Toph don't you think you've had enough?"

She looked at his direction, "Look I don't get tipsy from _one_ bottle Twinkle Toes." The waitress placed another cup of sake in front of her. They were all surprised that a young woman such as herself could handle all that wine. Her eyes, face, and the way she talked was obvious that the liquid had not taken its effect on her yet. Toph grinned as she jugged the sake down her throat. She felt Aang's eyes on her, shaking his head in amusement. A lady with light brown hair, walked toward the earth mistress' companion and smiled.

"Hello," she said to Aang. "Would you care to dance?"

The Avatar simpered, "Uh, no thank you."

The lady frowned and left. Toph rolled her eyes in irritation. She slammed her fist on the counter, "What the hell was that?"

"What?" Aang asked innocently.

"How many women will need to throw themselves on you until you dance with one? You are _always_ breaking hearts Twinkle Toes, stop it!"

"Huh?"

"Come on. You can't lie to me! There is someone!" she grinned. "It's Koko after all isn't it?"

"No!" Aang couldn't believe her. Why was she always setting him up?

"Ah you're still heartbroken then. Or maybe you already have a girlfriend--who's not Koko--and you're not telling your former earthbending teacher and friend." She drank some more of her sake. The Avatar shook his head knowing that she couldn't see. He wondered why he had to be with anyone, to prove that he was happy. The Avatars before him never really had a campanion did they? Aang briefly wondered if they were pushed into finding someone.

"No Toph. I'm still single. You should know that," he told her. "And how about you? Are you over Sokka?"

"It's been a couple of years Twinkle Toes. I try not to mope around like you do, you know? After all, I don't think you need someone to be happy." She brushed her bangs aside. "So to answer your question, yes."

"If you don't really believe you need someone to be happy--then why do you keep setting me up?" Aang inquired.

"Because that's just me. Not everyone feels the same. You seem to need a campanion."

"I don't need a campanion."

"Okay, you _want _one."

"Maybe. What will be, will be I guess."

"Don't worry Aang. I'll help you find her."

"Excuse me miss?" a voice called out from behind them. "Would you care to dance?"

Toph turned her form to face the stranger, "Sure." She got off of her stool and went to him, but before walking off, she turned around. "Don't worry Twinkle Toes. I'll save you a dance--and don't forget, we'll have next week too." She winked at him suggestively (though to her, it probably wasn't intentional since she was blind) and walked off with the young man.

* * *

Aang and Koko waltzed around the dance floor, like they usually do everytime they met at this kind of party. Ever since Koko had become of age, she pursued the Avatar whenever she was given a chance. At first Aang thought it was flattering, but it slowly became uncomfortable to an extent for him--because if he allowed this to continue, he could end up hurting her. By dancing with her, he could unintentionally be leading her on and making her fall in love with him, only to be heartbroken in the end. He didn't want that for her because he knew how it was like to be heartbroken. However Koko was an all right person, she was certainly less annoying compared to when she was a little girl.

Aang looked at the others while conversing with his dance partner. He spotted Toph talking to some guy. He glared at the man and then looked at Toph laughing at whatever he said. She was moving on, and he felt happy for her. She really did deserve happiness, she deserved someone who'd love her as much as she'd love him, and she deserved the best. Unfortunately, something within him did not like the men who came into her life--asking her if she wanted to go out or dance. She declined most of them but that night, she actually said yes to _all_ of those men who asked her to dance with them.

Ugh. What was wong with him?! He'd be lying though, if he said he wasn't jealous of the men who danced with her last week at the club; he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't angry when he hardly got to dance with her; and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't upset by the fact that he hardly got to spend time with her alone.

Toph excused herself from the conversation and walked to the dance floor. Every time there was a party, and Aang and Koko were dancing, she would walk up to them and ask, "May I cut in?" Aang and her had made an unspoken rule that the earthbender would rescue Aang from Koko--or any other girl that was going a bit too far.

Like every time, Aang would let go of his partner and say, "Of course," and dance the night away with her. However this time he smiled and held on to Koko and said, "Hey Toph. Not this time, is that all right? Maybe we can dance later."

Toph was shocked, Aang _never_ denied her. Aang never took much pleasure from dancing with Koko, but it would seem that he was liking it this time. Did that mean she was taking his advice of moving on? Was Koko going to be the woman? Toph quickly regained her composure. If that's how it was meant to be; if that's what he wanted, then why not? She did say that she'd help him find the girl, but it would seemed that he had already.

"All right," she said softly, catching Aang off guard. He wasn't expecting that kind of reaction from her. Toph said, "See you later then," and walked off. During the rest of the dance, Aang kept thinking about Toph--and fortunately for him the dance ended quickly. He bowed to Koko and followed after Toph, who he had seen walk out into the halls, away from prying eyes.

Toph wore a frown, as she walked off to get some fresh air--privacy really. She felt Aang's footsteps and walked away from his direction faster, hoping that Aang wouldn't see her--or follow her. Maybe he just needed to be alone too. Her mind screamed, _Why Koko?_ She was _so_ young. Why was she complaining? She was moving on too after all! They were helping each other move on with their lives. Toph sighed, she _knew_ why she wasn't happy about Aang and Koko. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Aang had found her and caught up with her.

"Toph!" he grabbed her wrist and turned her around, so they were face to face. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to--"

She pushed him against the wall, and kissed him. When she broke away, Aang's bewildered look did not fade. "W-what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" she asked irritated. "Kissing you!" A fleeting moment passed by, was she doing it wrong?

"I know that, but why?!" his voice became high.

She moved closer to him and breathed, "Why do you think?" After a moment she realized he was going to be stiff about it, so continued. "Well last time I liked somebody, the hints I gave weren't enough. I won't make that mistake this time."

"Huh?" The Avatar wondered if she was practicing on him or something.

She groaned in exasperation, "Man, I thought it was just Sokka--but boy you men sure are _dense!_"

"Y-you l-like me?" he stuttered in shock.

"Duh! Haven't you heard a word I've said? Are you not listening to me? Isn't that what I said? I _like _you. I may actually like you a lot more than I think!" Toph mentally scolded herself. She couldn't possibly fall for another guy who wouldn't feel the same way about her. It was strange. Just when she thought she was free from those stupid emotions of attraction, she's pulled back in. The way he tried to cheer her up when she was in a foul mood, the way he understood what it was like to be pretend to be something that they weren't; and the way he was the opposite of her personality made her like him! She hadn't realized it at first, then she denied it, and now she was doing this. Her words to him were still true, she didn't need someone to make her happy, but she wanted someone--him to be her...well whatever you call it when you like someone to be there with you thick and thin.

"Toph," he breathed, "I like you too." Swiftly leaning down he kissed her, taking her breath away. The tables were turned when Toph found herself pinned against the wall by Aang instead of the other way around.The kiss was soft and tender that it seemed impossible that they could be feeling strong electrifying sparks, that made their spine tingle.

"Twinkle Toes," Toph called out softly. Her face flushed, her heart rapidly beathing, and her chest rising up and down--trying to inhale as much air she could because she couldn't believe that they were actually kissing.

"I've liked you for a long time," Aang rested his forehead against hers, and brought one of her hands to his chest, where his heart beated. He wanted her to know that he wasn't lying. "But when you kept on insisting I move on with those girls, I thought that you didn't feel the same way. I tried to push the thoughts away, but I couldn't. They wouldn't stop entering my thoughts."

"How long?" she wanted to know how long he felt this way about her.

"How about you?"

"Several months," she answered honestly.

"Me too," he nuzzled her nose. "So why didn't you do anything? After all what Toph wants, Toph gets."

Toph smirked but then it became a sad smile. Aang wondered if she was thinking about Sokka and prayed that she wasn't. "But you never saw me as a girl...I was always your best friend or earthbending teacher, but not someone you thought that you could _like_ the way you liked Katara."

Aang began to kiss her face, her cheeks, jawline, and throat. His hands, timidly at first, roamed around her body, her curves. "I'm sorry I made it seem that way." There was a time when Aang didn't see her as a girl he could actually like, but then again he thought he would spend the rest of his life with Katara, but when she blossomed at the age of thirteen or fourteen, he realized that she _was_ going to be lady--a very attractive one, and she was. He caressed the strands of her silky black hair, and they soon found themselves kissing again. However this time it was more passsionate. Their tongues danced for dominance and Toph inwardly smirked. Who knew that Aang had it in himself to be so bad? They could've gone on forever.

"Ahem."

They pulled away from each other relucantly. Their minds slowly clearing out the fog, their lungs gasping for air, their faces red like a tomato, and their hearts felt like they were going to jump out of their ribcages. It was even worst for Aang when his eyes accidently wandered down to her chest, seeing their rise and falling motion. He moved away slightly away from her, so he couldn't _feel_ them against his chest. All the blood rushed to his head when he remembered why they had to stop.

Toph faced the direction of where the voice came from, feeling the weight of the four spectators. She felt embarrassed being caught in such a heated moment and resisted the urge to earthbend them out of the hall. She felt very tempted to yell at them too for interrupting them. She exhaled, trying to regain her composure--she wouldn't be caught off guard. However these were her friends...people who knew her better than her own parents. People who've known her since she was twelve! She couldn't really hide from them, but did she really want to?

Katara had been the one to 'clear her throat,' that they knew. It was her, Sokka, and their spouses.

"Yes?" Toph asked with a brow arched, and her voice somewhat feigning innocence, and yet demanding to know why they interrupted her and Aang.

"What do you think you two were doing?" Katara's arms were crossed in disapproval; Sokka snickered and winked at Aang--who he thought of as a little brother and tried to teach him about the ladies, so he was kind of proud of the boy); and Suki and Katara's husband was blushing.

"What does it look like? Come on Katara, I thought _I_ was the blind one," Toph smirked, bringing the Avatar closer to her. Aang gulped, not knowing if he should speak up and if he should let go of Toph or not.

"But you shouldn't be doing that! **_Especially _**in public!"

"We're not in public. You just made it public," Toph retorted playfully. "Besides I'm _blind_ it doesn't really make a difference to me."

"Okay," Katara exhaled. "But Aang! You should know better! You have no excuse!"

"At least do it where no one's gonna walk in on you, or see you, or maybe even hear you." Sokka grinned only to be punched on the arm by his sister and wife.

"Sokka! Don't encourage them!" Katara yelled. Suki and Katara's beloved wondered if they should leave, after all it seemed like a moment between the four family members--and yes they were family too--but they weren't part of the "Fearsome Foursome."

Before Katara could get another word in, Toph spoke up. "Katara I think we're old enough to be doing this. You and Sokka started making out with the opposite sex, at a much earlier age than we are."

"No we didn't! Maybe _Sokka--"_

"Hey!" Sokka interjected, but his sister continued on.

"--over here did."

"Close _enough_." Toph retorted. "We have a right, and I think we've _earned_ it too, to make out."

"Yeah. I mean come on Katara, it's not like they're doing it," Sokka cut in. "Yet." The smirk on his face due to the last word he uttered was soon wiped away when his sister hit him again, this time on the head. Aang and Toph looked away or down at the comment, their cheeks lightly red. Their breathing suddenly heavy. Was Sokka _trying_ to embarrass them?

"Oh come on," Suki finally spoke, "Toph's a noblewoman and Aang's too much of a gentleman, I highly doubt that they...well you know." Katara looked at Aang, mentally screaming: "You'd better not do anything before marriage!"

It was evident that her sisterly instinct was causing her to be overly protective of Aang and Toph. Sokka on the other hand, was playing big brother with Aang and pracically saying, that's the man! I knew I taught you well! And so on. Though later on, Katara, Toph, and Aang knew that Sokka would be giving them a speech; and that he and Aang were going to have a private man to man talk. After all, who else was going to do it? Who better than "big brother."

"Don't worry about a thing. We'll be good," Aang assured them sincerely.

"But not _too_ good," Toph chuckled. "You shouldn't be so nosy guys. We gave, and _still_ give you your privacy when you want and/or need it; and you should do the same for us and mind your own business."

"This _is _our--" Katara and Sokka began.

"Come on guys, can you give us some privacy? Please?" Aang asked.

"Nah it's okay Twinkle Toes," Toph said, bringing him closer to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Maybe they want to watch. Now where were we?"

Katara could not believe them! She was about to walk over there and break the two up, when her husband pulled her away. "They deserve _some _privacy love." Sokka and Suki followed them back to the party room, giving the love birds some time alone.

Aang smirked and kissed Toph again.

Tonight, only their tongues would be dancing.


End file.
